EPA throws in the towel on policing air pollution from factory farms

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to discontinue a 20-year-long initiative aimed at monitoring air pollution from factory farms, effectively ending its efforts to regulate these facilities under the Clean Air Act. This decision was announced just days before the midterm elections and was described by the agency as a long-awaited relief for farmers, a critical voting bloc for the Republican party.

The source material states that when large numbers of animals are concentrated in a single location, pollution from their waste can be distributed through ventilation fans or emanate from large lagoons of liquid waste. The EPA notes that livestock facilities generate fine particulate matter, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, all of which contribute to a dangerous pollutant mix.

Scientific studies have demonstrated that emissions from these operations are a significant source of air pollution, resulting in approximately 12,700 premature deaths annually in the United States.